Lost and Found
by Annie-chan
Summary: Short little ficlet. Xemnas finds the Nobody who will be named Roxas alone and scared in the woods outside Twilight Town. Read the author's notes for a better explanation.


**Author's Notes:** Okay, there's a bit of a story behind this ficlet. Months ago, when I finished _Kingdom Hearts II_, I started writing a multi-chapter story featuring my favorite male-male pairing of the game, Axel and Roxas. I had it planned out from start to finish, and was going to write all of it as separate scenes and then edit them into chapters and post them about one chapter per week. I've gotten about halfway through, but no dice. It's just not working out. A combination of things just not falling together they way I planned and a severe case of writer's block has pretty much killed my idea. But, I do like a few of the scenes I've already written, and don't want to lose them, so I'm converting those scenes into one-shots. This is the first, and it's about Xemnas finding Roxas in the woods outside Twilight Town. Obviously, this is just after Roxas was "born". I'll try to convert and post the others about once every two weeks until I'm through, as I'm staggering them with a _JTHM_ multi-chapter I'm in the midst of writing (and which is going much more smoothly). So, keep an eye out for other little ficlets like this in the near future.

_Kingdom Hearts II_ and all related characters are property of Square-Enix and any other entities holding copyright. I'm just letting my Muse have a little fun at my fingers' expense.

**Lost and Found  
**By Annie-chan

Night was falling in the forest, the last glimmer of sunshine already having disappeared beneath the western horizon. There was no moon out, and the starts had not yet appeared. Darkness was quickly deepening beneath the thick canopy of the forest outside Twilight Town.

A lone boy staggered through the woods, lurching forward unevenly as if in a daze. Exhaustion seemed to be setting in, a vague panic visible in the depths of his startlingly blue eyes. He was completely lost, becoming more and more convinced that he had just been walking in wide circles ever since he woke up in this place.

He stumbled on a root sticking out of the ground, gritting his teeth in pain as he fought to retain his balance. His bare feet were already sore, worn out by the hard ground, tender where rocks had jabbed into his soles. The thin white clothing he wore was dirty and grass-stained, torn in places were branches had snagged. Soon after waking up, he had indeed run around in a panic, unable to remember, or even recognize, anything about where he was. Now, his greatest desire was just to find some kind of civilization, but tiredness was quickly taking him over.

"Ow!" he cried out, a sharp stone digging into the ball of his foot. He instinctively jerked his foot away from the source of the pain, but this only caused him to stumble and fall down hard. He gritted his teeth in pain as his knees bruised against the hard ground. The grass, though soft, did nothing to cushion his fall.

The gathering night continued to deepen, obscuring his already limited vision. The thick forest around him was quickly approaching total darkness.

Feeling terribly lost and alone, the boy leaned up against a nearby tree trunk, drawing his knees up to his chest and wrapping his arms around them. Tears welled in his vibrant eyes, but he fought back the urge to sob, determined not to give in completely to the hopelessness that was gripping him. He squeezed his eyes shut, fending off the threatening tears.

"Somebody find me…" he murmured, starting to shiver. He swallowed, trying to ignore the feeling that something was wrong inside him. It was like an important part of him was missing, but he couldn't identify exactly what. He had pushed it to the back of his mind in his fruitless search for human life, but it was rapidly coming to the fore again as his hope of finding anyone dwindled.

Even though his eyes were closed, the darkness around him seemed to suddenly get even deeper, as if a shadow had fallen over him. He stopped breathing for a few seconds, alarmed, but then willed his eyelids to open and slowly raised his face to look above him.

There was a man standing next to him, his silhouette so black that he seemed to be made out of nothingness itself. The hood of his long coat was up, and would have obscured his face even in broad daylight, but blazing orange eyes were visible, their piercing gaze trained on the boy shivering on the ground at his feet.

"Wh-who are you?" the boy stammered, a mixture of horror and relief flooding him. Part of him wanted to flee, but the other part wanted to cling to this man as a hope of finding a place to stay tonight.

"Why don't you tell me who you are first?" the man replied, his voice low and soft.

"I don't…I don't know," the boy said, suddenly realizing that he didn't even know his own name. In fact, he knew _nothing_ of his life before waking up in this forest. Everything was shrouded in a stubbornly impenetrable darkness. It was like he had just been born, almost.

The man tilted his head, seemingly a bit confused by that. "Your name?" he asked.

The boy slowly shook his head, staring dumbly up at the newcomer.

"You don't even remember your own name…" the man murmured, as if turning the information over in his head. "That's very strange."

"Can you help me?" the boy asked, reaching out and grasping at the hem of the man's coat. "Please…it's been hours since I woke up…I'm so hungry…so thirsty…" Weariness was quickly setting in, making it painful to move.

The man knelt down beside him, and though the boy had half an urge to flinch away, he didn't move. Indeed, he seemed to actually lean toward the man when gloved hands were placed on the sides of his face.

"Let me see…" the man said to himself, closing his eyes. The boy suddenly felt a sensation as if a probe had been inserted into his head. It didn't hurt, but there was no doubt that the man was somehow looking _inside_ of him, searching for something or other. The boy trembled, but was too tired to pull away.

After a few moments, the probe was pulled out and the man opened his eyes. Even in the darkness, the boy thought he could see shock and confusion deep in those orange depths. The man seemed to have found something he hadn't expected to find, though he hid his reaction to it well.

"I see," the man simply said after a moment more, the traces of surprise gone from his eyes.

"What?" the boy asked, curiosity and trepidation getting the better of him even through his growing exhaustion. "What were you doing?"

Though he couldn't see the man's face, save for his eyes, the boy had the distinct impression that the man was now smiling. A shiver ran through his body, the invisible smile sending a chill through his delicate frame.

"I think you should come with me," the man said, standing up and holding his hand out to the boy. "It's time I took you where you belong."

Confused, the boy stared up at the black shape towering above him. After a moment of indecision, he slowly raised his hand, his fingers trembling in fatigue and apprehension.

The man didn't move, waiting calmly for the boy to take his hand. When the fragile fingers finally brushed his, he grasped the boy's hand in his own and pulled him up to his feet.

"Come now," the man said, another slow smile creeping across his face. "I'll take you home."

**End**

**Author's Notes:** Really short, I know. I don't think it's my best writing, but I hope you enjoyed it all the same. It's a brief glimpse into the earliest hours of Roxas' existence, nothing more. Did you all like it? Did I do a good job? Please let me know. Comments and reviews are like crack for me. Feed my addiction.

As I said before, I'll likely post the next one in a couple of weeks, so if you're interested, keep an eye out for it. And if you're into _JTHM_, go check out "My Immortal", the fic I'm currently writing for it. It centers around Nny and Devi, if that sparks your interest any. I think it's going rather well, so go take a look.

See you all next time.


End file.
